Monday, January 25,
2016
“In
everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning
you” (I Thessalonians 5:18).
(Especially in these crazy days!)
Hey
Gang: Bottom line! We are to be in a constant attitude of giving
thanks for everything. Why? Because, according to Paul,
“This is the will of God for you”. Paul also emphasized this point
when he wrote, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which
indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful” (Col. 3:15).
He also
encouraged his listeners to “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will
say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men, The Lord is
near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts
and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:4-7).
I
believe most folks would agree that Paul was a chosen vessel of the
Father. He looked down one day and saw Saul, the persecutor of His
people, heading for Damascus to do his worst - but God looked down and said, “I’ll
take that one”. Yes, I believe Paul was a chosen vessel, but did that
place a hedge of protection shielding him?– In no way.
In
Corinthians 4:17 Paul wrote, “For momentary, light afflictions is
producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison”.
In 2 Corinthians 11:23-28 he puts some meat on that statement; “…in prison;
beaten times without number, often in danger of death, five times I received 39
lashes. stoned, shipwrecked three times, to name a few.”
When
Paul was being taken to Rome as a prisoner, he endured a frightening
voyage. The boat was caught in a hurricane and shipwrecked. Paul
had to swim ashore where he was bitten by a poisonous snake but lived and
declared a god. Once the ship was repaired, Paul and the crew spent
months tossed at sea.
When
Paul arrived at his destination notice that his first response was to thank God
for the blessings and was encouraged. (Acts 28:15). No
speeches of the woes he endured, the horrible nights of terror, the days when
it did not seem they would survive the seemingly endless trials. He lived
his testimony by declaring “In all things, I give thanks”.
In my
82-year sojourn I have heard many speakers tell of the woes of their lives and
then, in the last five minutes give honor and glory to God for seeing them
through the valleys and shadows of their sojourn. We all have gone
through peaks and valleys in our lives and wondered if we heard the voice of
God correctly.
When we
answered God’s call to come to Michigan and build a home for trouble kids, the
trip across country certainly planted some doubt in our minds, as to whether or
not we heard God correctly. Flat tires, frozen heater lines, into the
ditch, ice storm in Wyoming…. to name a few of the woes.
I
believe God was teaching us a lesson that would carry us through the tough
times that would be ever- present in our lives thereafter. We learned
three very important lessons on that trip cross country: first, there would be
adversities, but God always provided an answer to those adversities.
Second,
we learned what Deuteronomy 31:6 really meant: “Be strong and
courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the Lord your God is the
one who goes with you, He will not fail you or forsake you.” We
also learned “The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked” (Psa.
11:5).
Third,
there is no immunity against hard times, folks. As I look back over the
peaks and valleys, the one thing that sticks out the most profoundly is “He was
always there to bail us out”. Perhaps not the way we thought it should be
or the way we would have liked, perhaps not even in timing but His ways
always turned out to be the prefect way.
I close
this epistle with a deep concern I have for many of our young people who have
been protected by parents who do not allow their children to experience
clinkers in their lives. James Chapter 1 tells us that alligators are
good teachers and train us to handle future adversities. I believe
one of the greatest failures in many homes is the failure to learn the joys of
anticipation. We want to give- when they want to receive – not long-lasting
lessons of God’s best. Seeds planted today are not harvested tomorrow.
Blessings,
Gramps
PS I am the one most
blessed by re-reading these morning thoughts of Kermit/ Gramps.? I usually read several before picking one! Can
you hear his voice? January is a good
time to remind you that, unlike some emails, you can get off the list and I
will love you just the same. Just let me know and I will remove your email from
the list.
